Tuesday, May 15, 2018

The Storm

The Storm by Arif Anwar

I wanted to read this book because I don’t usually read
books set in or near India.I’ve tried
but the culture itself seems too chaotic and I can’t keep my head focused as I
try to imagine myself IN the story.But The
Storm seemed different and so I tried again.This time, this story, this telling kept me
focused.I think because the author took
away the chaos of life in India and focused completely on the stories of his
characters.

Spanning the time between 1942 and 2004, in India and
Bangladesh just before and after the Partition of India to form East Pakistan,
making a place for Hindus and Muslims to separate themselves from each other,
and just before the Bhola Cyclone of 1970, and the looming deadline of an
expiring visa there is a lot of ground to cover and many life stories to
tell.

Principally, this is the story of Shahryar, and it is his
visa that is expiring.As the day draws
closer he spends more and more time with his daughter, coming to terms with the
fact he will be giving over her raising to Anna’s mother and her boyfriend
because he knows if he goes back to Bangladesh he won’t be able to return to
the U.S.Anna is lucky, though, she has
three adults in her life who want only the best and are in agreement that Shahryar
will always be a part of Anna.

This is also the story of how Shahryar became Shahryar
because at first he wasn’t.It is the
story of his parents, poor and dependent on fishing, both aware of the coming
storm but no one was prepared for the loss of over half a million lives in one
night. One night! As Shahryar must do for Anna, his parents did for him and
because of that, his life was spared.He
was a very young child and was brought up as the son of the couple who harbored
him during the storm, never knowing he was born someone else.

This is also the story of a Japanese pilot and a gift.It is the story of a British doctor and her
gift.

Always, it is the story of how the result of selfless acts,
risks in times of danger, and chance can swirl in time and settle to shape
someone’s life. It is the story that shows us in so many ways how everything we
do and everyone we know are all connected.